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Sudden Dramatic Weight Loss

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BertisKing

BertisKing

Teenage Guinea Pig
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Stoke on Trent
Humphrey had his weekly weigh in yesterday and had dropped a massive 200g since his last one. (He doesn't weigh much to start off with- he peaks at around 850g-he's tiny)
I took him to the vets this afternoon (as soon as I could) having immediately got some critical care into him yesterday.
He's eating fine and pooping like a trooper, but there must be something wrong to cause that weight loss?
Also he appears to have lost his wheek. He's never been very good at it but usually manages to get some sort of squeak out, but now he just seems to rasp a bit.
He's staying overnight at the vets for blood tests and some x rays to try to rule out things like diabetes and any dental problems, so hopefully I'll have some answers tomorrow.
Not having much luck healthwise with the piggies so far this year! :(
 
Fingers very firmly crossed for Humphrey!

Not a good year for me, either... One of the four I lost was found to have a large swelling at the back of her throat which closed it shut. By the time she showed symptoms, it was sadly too late. :(
 
So sorry to hear this, I had similar with Jemima as she was only ever around 850g at her heaviest so any weight loss always seemed so huge. Fingers crossed for some answers and for Humphrey to be gaining that weight again soon
 
Just spoken to the vets and they've found a lump in his thyroid gland. They couldn't draw enough blood to test his thyroid function so they've taken an FNA of it and I'm waiting for the cytology to come back. Everything crossed that this is a benign mass. :(
 
BertisKing said:
Just spoken to the vets and they've found a lump in his thyroid gland. They couldn't draw enough blood to test his thyroid function so they've taken an FNA of it and I'm waiting for the cytology to come back. Everything crossed that this is a benign mass. :(
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I am very sorry about the news.
Fingers very firmly crossed that all goes well and that you have caught it in time!
 
We're still waiting for Humphrey's cytology results to come back but in the meantime he's continued to lose weight and is now hovering at around 450g. Problem is, he's not eating any less- I'm giving him extra feeds to try and slow the weight loss down but as he's still eating like a horse on his own I'm struggling as he's just not hungry enough.
Is there anything I can give him to boost his calorie intake?
 
Oh no, that is pretty extreme weight loss, must be so worrying. I think Emeraid Herbivore has more calories than the other types of recovery food? What are you using now as the extra feeds?
 
lauraboara said:
Oh no, that is pretty extreme weight loss, must be so worrying. I think Emeraid Herbivore has more calories than the other types of recovery food? What are you using now as the extra feeds?
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He's on Oxbow CC at the moment with a bit of his favourite baby food and I'm trying to get it in little and often.
He's getting to the point where he can't be as active as normal as he just gets worn out. His little tummy feels so full so I don't feel like I can keep shoving food into him without causing him other problems :(
 
Can the vet give him anything to treat his thyroid disorder and slow down his metabolism?
Emeraid has higher calorie content than CC so you can get greater calories into him in a smaller quantity. Do you have any? If you need some pls let me know xx
 
No I haven't got any in but there's a seller on ebay that dispatches from Stoke so I've messaged them to see if I can go and collect instead of waiting for the post.

The vet wouldn't confirm anything thyroid related when I spoke to her yesterday, though I get the feeling they have a diagnosis in mind but won't say anything until they know for sure. The only thing they suggested was using some form of critical care but it's obviously not working.
He's being so good about all the messing about but he looks knackered and it's breaking my heart
 
The results from Humphrey's FNA have come back as inconclusive (as most human thyroid FNAs do, so I shouldn't really be surprised) so the only way forward now is surgery. The only other option would be to watch and wait to see what happens, but he's losing weight so quickly it could get to the point where he won't be fit for surgery if we leave it any longer.
There were some abnormal epithelial cells in the sample so the lab couldn't rule out a skin lesion growing into the thyroid, so we won't know until he gets into theatre on Tuesday exactly what's going on in there, but we're all hoping that he'll be sorted with a hemithyroidectomy which will mean he won't need lifelong meds and should start putting he weight back on.
This is obviously the best case scenario as the big C hasn't yet been ruled out, and if it's any different then I'll have to have a serious think about his future and what's best for him. Hopefully it won't come to that.
Going to spend the weekend spoiling him rotten and bulking him up as much as possible ready for whatever Tuesday brings.
 
I am so sorry reading about all this. Can't offer any advice but just wanted to wish you and Humphrey well with everything. I really will keep my fingers crossed that he recovers.
 
Huge hugs, sending love to your little dude x
 
i hope Humphrey can gain enough weight prior to his operation.partial thyroidectomy would help his recovery if it is a thyroid hormone problem.Emerald is brilliant for weight gain rapidly .sending positive thoughts.takecare of yourself.x
 
Sending lots of healing vibes for Humphrey and hugs for you xx
 
Just heard that Humphrey is awake after his surgery and the lump was successfully removed. I get to bring him home tonight so I'll find out more when I go to fetch him and obviously we don't know what the lump is until the histology is back, but at least he's awake- despite the Emeraid and round the clock feeding, I only managed to keep him at about 600g over the weekend, so I was worried about the GA.
Can't wait to get my little man home- we've basically just spent the whole weekend chilling together- he even came into work with me Saturday (the least he could do since I was putting in extra hours to pay for his vets bills!)
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Wishing your gorgeous Humphry a speedy recovery, sounds like it's been a scary time. I'm sorry I missed your thread before x
 
Well done for getting his weight back up a bit again in time for his surgery Beth.
Hope he continues to do well. Me and the girls send healing wheeks xx
 
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